Repercussions
by willgirl
Summary: Third in the A Year in the Life Series. Booth and Brennan face the repercussions of revealing their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to part 3 of my series, entitled Repercussions! This one has slight angst in it, but don't worry, it all works out well in the end! Thanks to everyone for their reviews!**

Booth blinked and opened his eyes. He tried to sit up but was pinned down by the body on top of him. He looked down at her and smiled. Her head was on his chest, her long wavy hair covering him. Her arm was flung around his waist and she had a faint smile on her lips. He ran his fingers through her hair and sighed. He had never felt so content. He liked that about them. They both managed to quell the problems each other had with their pasts. 'We fix each other.' He thought to himself.

He lifted his head slightly and looked around the room. Several items of clothing were thrown about the room, including his tux and that stunning dress she was wearing last night.

Last night. For a day that started out with him pretending not to be with her, it turned out pretty good. 'Better than good.' He thought to himself. He had never expected in a million years that she would tell him she loved him. When he had implied it in the restaurant she had become uncomfortable. He had thought it would take a long time for them to reach this point. When she had told him, he knew that he would never have another moment in his life where he had felt so happy.

He looked down at her again and smiled. It must have taken her a lot to tell him that then, in front of Cam and Cullen and everyone. He groaned inwardly. He hated to think about what the repercussions of that was going to be. He remembered last night, after they broke away from the kiss. He had looked at Angela, who was crying of course and then slowly surveyed the rest of the table. Zach and Hodgins were grinning madly, Cam was looking uncomfortable and Cullen looked completely confused.

No one could say anything because everyone in the room was singing Auld Lang Syne at the top of their lungs. Dr. Goodman had come over with his wife and had shook everyone's hands and said happy new year. He was sure Goodman hadn't seen the kiss, but he definitely would find out about it eventually. Everyone quieted down and the band started again, and before anyone could say anything he had grabbed her hand and pulled her to the dance floor. He remembered he couldn't stop smiling as he whirled her around the dance floor. At that moment he didn't care about the consequences. He had her and she had him. And that is all that mattered.

They had danced for few songs and then headed back to the table. He noticed that Cam was no longer sitting there and Angela informed them that she had left. Cullen was about to say something when Laura looked at him reproachfully and took him off to the dance floor. It was at that point that they had decided to leave. Whatever his boss's feelings were on the subject, he didn't want to hear them tonight. They waved goodbye to the squints and took a cab back to her apartment.

He smiled again as she shifted in his arms. He could stay like this forever, or at least for the next few hours, which was his plan.

"Morning." She mumbled into his chest. He stroked her hair.

"Morning." He replied.

She shot up suddenly. "What time is it?" she asked frantically.

He looked over at the clock. "Nine-thirty." He replied.

"I have to go to work." She said, trying to untangle herself from him.

"No you don't. It's New Year's Day remember? It's a holiday." He replied. "Besides I'm not going to let you go." To illustrate his point, he grabbed her waist and flipped her over. He pressed his lips against hers and felt her melt beneath him.

"Well.." she said, when they had parted. "I guess I could take one day off."

"Good girl." He said, kissing her again.

"Booth." She said, pulling away from him and suddenly becoming serious. "Cullen didn't look too happy."

"Temperance." He said, exasperatingly. "I don't care. We will have to deal with it tomorrow, I know. But right now I have a beautiful woman in my arms and I would like to enjoy this moment without thinking about my boss, thank you very much."

"I guess that's logical." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

"Mmm.." he said, kissing her neck. "Definitely logical."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, its pretty short but I wanted to leave it at this point. The next (much longer chapter) will be up tommorrow! I hope you like! Thanks for all the reviews!**

She walked into the Jeffersonian the next day briskly. Even though it was 7:00 in the morning and she didn't expect anyone to be there, she still wanted to start work as soon as possible. She thought about what her and Booth had talked about last night. They were going to remain professional at all times when they were at work. Not that this would be a problem, she knew how dedicated they both were to their jobs. She stepped inside her office and put her bags down. She quickly checked her email and settled down to complete the pile of paperwork on her desk.

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"Sweetie?" Angela said, coming into her office.

"Hey Angela." She replied, not looking up from her computer screen.

"So… what did you and Booth do all day yesterday?" Angela said, grinning.

"Listen, Angela." She said, turning and looking at her. "It's important that the Jeffersonian and the FBI believe that we can still be partners, so if we could not talk about my relationship at work that would be great."

"Sorry, Bren." Angela replied. "I didn't think about that."

"Didn't think about what?" Hodgins said, coming in the door.

"Nothing." She replied. "Let's just get to work, shall we?" She headed over to the platform where Zach was standing, Angela and Hodgins close behind.

"What are you working on Zach?" she asked.

"Nothing right now." Zach replied. "Dr. Saroyan is in a meeting with Dr. Goodman right now, so she hasn't assigned me anything yet."

"They are in a meeting?" Angela said, looking over at her worriedly.

"Are you and Agent Booth still going to be able to work together?" Zach asked.

"Oh man, I was just getting used to Booth." Hodgins said. "Now we will get some government stooge who.."

"Everyone!" she said, louder than she intended to. "Please, let it go. We are jumping to conclusions and that is not allowed in this lab. Zach start with one of the unidentified bodies in Limbo. I am going to continue with my paperwork." With that, she stalked back to her office.

She had been in her office all morning. She was surprised that no one came and bothered her, especially Angela. She didn't mean to yell at them, but they had to understand. If her and Booth were going to work together, then they had to be professional at all times.

Booth. She hadn't heard from him all morning. Not that this was unusual, but today was different. She picked up the phone and before she knew it, she had dialled his number. After a few rings, his message picked up. "Hi, you've reached Agent Booth, please leave a message and I will return your call." She hung up quickly. If she left a message it might look bad. 'God, I am getting paranoid.' She thought to herself.

She headed out to see what the team was working on. They were all standing around, clearly not doing any work. "What is going on?" she asked.

"Sorry, Dr. Brennan." Hodgins said. "We were just taking a quick break."

"No, it's okay." She replied. "I'm sorry I snapped earlier."

"It's okay, sweetie." Angela said. "We totally get where you are coming from."

"We will be good." Zach piped up.

"So what were you talking about?" she asked.

"Just wondering where Cam is." Angela said. "I have some stuff for her but I haven't seen her all day."

"Excuse me?" a voice came from across the room. She turned and saw a man at the bottom of the stairs.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Are you Dr. Brennan?" the man replied.

"Yes, I am." She said.

"Well I am Special Agent Matthews." The man said. "I'm the new liaison for the Jeffersonian."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Phew! Quite the response for the last chapter! Here's a nice long one for you! Thanks for all the reviews!**

"What?" she said, her voice cutting through the silence. Suddenly, her cellphone rang. She grabbed it and opened it. "Brennan." She answered. Before he spoke she knew it was him.

"They split us up." He said, angrily. "I'm sorry I didn't call before. I've been in meetings all day."

"Is that why I'm staring at Agent Matthews." She said, shakily.

"He's there already?" he asked. "Dammit." She heard him curse under his breath. "Apparently Cam and Goodman and Cullen met this morning. I've been reassigned."

"Why?" she asked. "We are the best at what we do." Her voice started getting louder and more angry. "They know that."

"Yeah they do." He replied. "And they will start to realize the impact it will make when we are not together. Listen, I have to go. Pick you up at six?"

"Well… I have.." she started. She thought for a moment about what had happened. "Actually, you know what? Six is fine."

She didn't notice that both Cam and Goodman were walking on to the platform.

"Okay well see you later." He said, starting to hang up the phone.

"Booth wait!" she said frantically. "I love you."

She could hear him smiling on the phone. "I love you too." He replied. "Don't worry we will figure it out." With that, he hung up the phone.

She turned around and saw Dr. Goodman and Cam.

"Dr. Brennan." Goodman began. "Let me explain…"

"I think I've got it." She replied sharply. "As the senior forensic anthropologist, I believe I am allowed to pass certain cases on to Dr. Addy, am I correct?"

"Well… yes...but.." Goodman said.

She turned back to the agent still standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Agent Matthews." She said, heading down to meet him. "I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan. Please come up and meet the rest of the team." As they walked up the stairs, she gestured for Zach to come forward.

"This is Dr. Addy." She said. "You will be working with him regarding any cases that the FBI has."

"I'm sorry." Agent Matthews said, looking bewildered. "But I was told I was working with you."

"I don't take orders from the FBI." She said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a World War One victim to identify." Before anyone could say anything, she marched off to her office and shut the door.

She was fuming. She immediately shut her blinds and locked the door. She began pacing back and forth, her hands clenched in a fist. 'Why would they split us up?' she thought to herself. 'What are they worried Booth is going to be overprotective? Because he's being doing that since we met.'

* * *

There was a knock on her door. She thought about not answering it but realized she should just deal with the problem. Besides she didn't want to make it look like she was hiding. She sighed and went over and unlocked the door.

"Hey." Angela said to her as she opened it.

"Hey Ange." She replied, heading over and sitting on the couch. Angela came in and shut the door behind her.

"Oh sweetie, I am so sorry." She said, sitting next to her.

"Thanks Ange." She replied. "I just don't understand. It doesn't make logical sense. We are both good at what we do and we have solved a numerable amount of cases together. Cullen even said at New Year's."

"Somehow Bren, I think they aren't being logical with this." Angela replied. "Can I say however, how adorable it as that you said you loved him in front of everyone?'

"Yes you can." She replied smiling. "So what is going on out there?"

"Zach is completely confused and has no idea how to talk to Agent Matthews." Angela said. "Jack actually refuses to talk to him, but keeps muttering to himself."

"It's not Agent Matthews' fault, he is just doing his job." She said. "Tell Hodgins to be nice to him. And I am sure Zach will be fine."

"Will you be fine?" Angela said.

"I…I don't know." She replied. "This partnership is a huge part of who we are."

"You guys will figure it out." Angela said.

"That's what Booth said." She replied, smiling. "Speaking of, what time is it?"

"It's quarter to six." Angela said.

"I have to get ready. Booth is coming to get me at six." She said.

Angela started laughing.

"What?" she questioned.

"Sorry, sweetie but I can't believe you are leaving at six!" she replied. "I have never seen you do that the whole time you have been here."

"Well I don't want to be here any longer than I have to." She said. She headed out the door with Angela and up to the platform where everyone else was. She hadn't even started on the remains that she was supposed to be doing. She started placing the bones back in the box. She would deal with them tomorrow.

"Dr. Brennan?" Goodman said, coming towards her. "Might I have a word with you?"

"Actually," she replied, with every measure of civility. "I am just about to leave. However I can meet with you tomorrow."

"Leave?" Goodman said, looking at his watch. "But it's five to six."

"Yes it is." She said. "I have already put in one hour of overtime today."

Goodman still looked confused. "But you never leave at six." He said. "Surely you have time for a quick meeting."

"Actually I don't." she said, putting the last of the bones in the box. "As per my contract I am slated to work during the hours of 9 and 5, anything after that being overtime. The human resources policy of the Jeffersonian clearly dictates that a superior cannot force an employee to stay past their scheduled hours. Now I need to get going, but would be happy to have a meeting with you tomorrow." She grabbed the box of bones and headed back to her office.

* * *

Booth walked into the Jeffersonian hesitantly. It felt awkward, walking in here without a case, without a purpose. He strolled up to the platform, where everyone was standing.

"Hi." He said.

"Booth!" Angela said, her eyes lighting up. "You're here."

"Hey Booth!" Zach and Hodgins said, almost in unison. Clearly they were excited to see him.

It had only been a day, but he missed them too, even Zach. Not that he would tell them that of course. He started heading up the steps, when he realized he didn't have his keycard any more. Luckily, Angela swiped her card and let him in.

"Agent Booth." Goodman said. "What are you doing here?"

"Not that its any of your business," he replied. "But I am here to pick up my girlfriend." He heard a little squeak emanate from Angela and saw the dreamy look on her face. He saw Cam moving towards him out of the corner of his eye.

"Seeley.." she started.

"You don't get to call me that!" he shouted as her turned to face her. "Only she gets to call me that, not you." He pointed a finger at her, his voice getting louder. "I may not be the liaison for the Jeffersonian anymore, but I believe I deserve some respect. My name is Agent Booth, thank you very much."

He turned back away from Cam and saw her standing there. Within a second she was in his arms, hugging him fiercely.

"Hi." She mumbled into his chest.

"Hi yourself." He replied, looking down at her. She pulled away from him and looked up.

"Sorry about that." She said, looking awkwardly around at everyone.

"Hey." He said, cupping her face with his hands. "Never be sorry about that." He leaned closer and gave her a quick kiss and then pulled away. "So, ready to go?"

"Absolutely." She replied, flashing him a smile. She grabbed his hand and they headed out the door, not looking back once.

They had gone out to dinner and were now headed back to her place. They had talked during the meal but were now silent. When they got to her apartment, she stepped out of the car and waited for him to follow. They reached her apartment door and he stopped.

"Aren't you coming in?" she asked.

"Well, I wasn't sure if you wanted me too." He replied truthfully.

"Of course I do." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the apartment. Even though it was still fairly early, neither of them could keep their eyes open. They went through their bedtime routines, each brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed as if they had been doing it together for years instead of days. She crawled into bed and waited for him to crawl in beside her. When he did, she immediately grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her waist. He pulled her closer and she leaned her head back against his chest.

"Seeley?" she asked.

"Yes." He replied, running his fingers through her hair.

"I missed you today." She said softly.

"I missed you too." He said, kissing the side of her head. They soon drifted off to sleep in each others arms.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Glad to see everyone's liking Brennan's rebellious side! Hope you like this chapter and thank you so much for the reviews!**

"Dr. Brennan." Goodman said, gesturing her into her office.

"Dr. Goodman." She replied curtly, sitting down opposite him. She felt refreshed and ready to deal with whatever he had to say. 'Perhaps it's because I didn't wake up until 8.' She thought to herself. She had to try to keep from laughing as she remembered the look on Booth's face when she told him she would only be working from nine to five from now on. 'He had definitely been appreciative.' She thought, trying not to blush.

"So…" Dr. Goodman said. "We need to talk about the situation at hand."

"Okay." She replied.

"I wanted to let you know how and why we came to this decision." Goodman said.

"That is actually not necessary." She replied. "I can positively formulate all the reasons that Agent Booth would be removed as liaison from the Jeffersonian. I am curious about one thing though."

"Yes?" Goodman asked.

"I understand that you are trying to protect the Jeffersonian's reputation. Clearly it would look bad if mine and Agent Booth's abilities came into question, in court for example. However I am wondering why Agent Booth wasn't removed earlier from his position as liaison."

"I am not sure what you mean, Dr. Brennan." Goodman said.

"Well, Agent Booth and Dr. Saroyan had a sexual relationship and yet there were no repercussions for that." She stated.

"Agent Booth and Dr. Saroyan?" Goodman said, looking confused.

"As the head of forensics she would have as much contact with him as I would. Just because they didn't acknowledge their relationship in a public place does not make the concerns less valid." She said.

"I was unaware of this Dr. Brennan." Goodman said. "I would…uh… have to think about it."

"Thank you, Dr. Goodman." She replied. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

"Uhh…no that will be all." He said, distractedly.

She headed out the door, leaving a very confused and flustered administrator behind her.

* * *

"Dr. Bones!" she heard Parker cry. "Where are you?"

She stepped out of her office and on to the platform where her legs were immediately enveloped in a big hug. She bent down and he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Hi Parker." She said, hugging him back.

"Let's go, Dr. Bones!" Parker said, grabbing her hand and pulling her across the platform.

"Go where?" she asked.

"Wong Foos!" Parker replied. "Daddy and I are going there for dinner and you get to come cuz your daddy's girlfriend."

"Really?" Angela said, coming up to them. She was grinning like crazy.

"Yeah." Parker said. "Daddy said that he loves Dr. Bones very much and that means that she gets to hang out with us when I come over! And we can go see the dinosaurs one day!"

"I see." She replied, smiling. Parker was such a cute kid. He made have looked like Rebecca, but he was all Booth.

"Hi Dr. Jack, Hi Dr. Zach." Parker said, waving at the two squints who had come up on the platform.

"Hey Parker?" she said. "Where's your dad?"

"He's on the phone to mommy, he said he would be here in a second." Parker replied. He started to look around the room and noticed the body on the table. "Can I watch you listen, Dr. Bones?"

She was about to reply when she noticed Cam stalking towards them. "What is Parker doing here?" she asked. "He shouldn't be around remains."

"I'm watching Dr. Bones listen." Parker piped up.

"Listen?" Cam asked.

"Yep. People call Daddy and he calls Dr. Bones and they find the person and bring them here. Then Dr. Bones puts her ear next to them and listens. Then she finds out things, and Dr. Jack looks for bugs and Dr. Zach helps Dr. Bones and Angela draws the person's face." Parker paused for a breath before continued. "And THEN…Daddy and Dr. Bones go and catch the bad guys together and they go to jail and the person gets to go to heaven."

"Did Booth tell you that, sweetie?" Angela said.

"Yeah." Parker replied. "He and Dr. Bones are the best at catching the bad guys. Right Dr. Bones?" he said, turning to look at her.

She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. 'Not anymore.' She thought to herself. "Ahh, yeah you are right Parker." She said.

"Right about what?" Booth said, coming up the steps and stopping.

"Oh nothing." She replied hastily. "Ready to go to Wong Foos?"

"Absolutely." He said. "I'm starving."

"Me too!" Parker said.

"Let me go get my stuff." She replied. She headed back to her office and sat down in her chair. She was letting it get to her. The logical part of her said that this was just another situation in life that she needed to adapt to. However, she knew in her heart that she did not want to adapt. She grabbed her stuff and walked back out.

"So do you guys want to come?" Booth said to Angela, Zach and Hodgins. She noticed he was pointedly ignoring Cam.

"That would be great." Angela replied. "If you two don't mind."

"Not at all." She said, coming and standing next to Booth. As they waited for them to get their stuff, he turned to her and whispered "I haven't said hello to you all day." Before she could respond, he moved closer to her and kissed her. She had lost track of how many times they had kissed, but every time it was like when they had kissed in the snow. Full of passion and love, it took her breath away every time. This time was no exception. When they parted, she noticed an incredibly uncomfortable Cam standing near them.

"Let's go, I could eat a horse!" Hodgins said, coming up to them, Zach and Angela behind him.

She looked at him quizzically. "Your weight and stature indicate that it wouldn't be possible to do that. Besides which.."

"It's just a saying, Bones." Booth interjected.

"C'mon!" Parker said, pulling both of their hands. They all headed down the stairs and out the doors, none of them looking back at Cam, who was standing by the examination table all by herself.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Glad everyone's liking the story so far! Hope you like this chapter and thank you for all the wonderful reviews!**

Booth walked into the lab the next afternoon and immediately noticed that no one was around. Well, no one important that is. Just a few lab techs. "Excuse me." He said to one of them. "Do you know where Dr. Brennan is?"

"Um, staff meeting." The lab tech said, as she started to walk off.

"Wait." he said. "Can you let me in? I don't have my keycard. I'm Special Agent Booth from the FBI." He flashed his badge at the lab tech who looked at him suspiciously.

"It's okay, I will vouch for him." A voice said from behind him. He turned around and saw Jimmy, one of the security guards.

"Thanks Jimmy." He said, as the lab tech let him on to the platform. He headed straight to Temperance's office and sunk down on the couch. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He was not looking forward to what he had to do. How could he tell her, the woman he loved that…He couldn't bring himself to think it. He never thought that there would be this many problems with them being together. Somehow he had imagined that it would be just fine. That Cam would step aside gracefully and Cullen and Goodman would congratulate them. He figured that he would be trying to convince her about having a relationship, not everyone else.

He honestly couldn't understand why they would be split up. After all, they were good at a what they did. Better than good. While each of them were great at their jobs, together they were fabulous. A smile crossed his lips as he thought of how Temperance was dealing with it. The passive aggressive protest, no more overtime. 'Didn't see that one coming.' He thought to himself. And it made him love her even more, if that was possible. That she would stop doing what she loved for him. 'If only I could do the same for her.' He leaned back and shut his eyes, hoping that she would be out of her meeting soon.

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"I am holding this staff meeting to talk about personnel issues within our department." Cam said. "I believe in order to be effective at our jobs, we need to work together as a team. I know there have been some hard feelings, but if we could move past that and continue our work, that would be great."

'Move past it?' she thought to herself incredulously. 'Yeah right.' She looked around the room and saw the stony faces of Angela, Hodgins and Zach. She certainly did not want to get them in trouble but at the same time it heartened her to see that they were on her side. They were sticking by her. This was surprising and a fairly new concept for her. People didn't usually stick with her. But they did. 'Them and Booth.' She thought to herself. She tried to listen as Cam talked about being productive and team spirit, but her mind kept drifting to Booth. She watched as Cam tried to get responses out of the other three. She almost felt bad for Cam, clearly she was fighting a losing battle.

"Dr. Brennan?" Cam asked, causing her to break out of her reverie.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Do you have anything to say?" Cam said, staring at her.

"No." she said, staring directly back. Cam was trying to intimidate her by staring her down. Booth said that it was a cop trick. She held her stare until Cam faltered.

"Well okay then." Cam said. "Everyone is dismissed."

She turned and left the conference room and headed for her office. When she arrived, she found Booth sound asleep on her couch. She stood there watching him for a minute, not wanting to wake him. He looked peaceful. Finally she sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulder. This caused him to stir and turn and look at her.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Hey." She replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you." He said, kissing her forehead.

She glanced at her watch. It was 4:45. "Wow, I didn't realize the time." She said.

"How was the meeting?" he asked.

"I don't know." She confessed. " I was thinking about you the whole time." With that, she kissed him on the lips, softly at first but then it grew more passionate and urgent. She broke away from him trying to catch her breath. When she looked up at him, he had a pained look on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her stomach flip-flopping in worry.

"I..I have to tell you something." He replied, looking equally nervous.

"What?" she said, panicky. "Please tell me, you are making me scared, Seeley."

"I met with Cullen today. He reassigned me." He said shakily. "I have to go undercover for a while."

She was silent for a moment. She had a question to ask and she could tell by the look on his face that the answer would not be good.

"How long?" she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"A month, maybe more." He said. "I won't be able to have any contact…"

She put her hands up to his lips to quiet him. She tugged his shirt and pulled him into a hug. She felt the hot tears rolling down her face as she hugged him tighter. They stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other.

"There's more." He muffled into her shirt. She pulled away and looked at him.

"I have to leave tomorrow." He said.

Booth's cellphone rang, jolting them out of their silence. They had been sitting there silent for what felt like hours but in reality was only a few minutes. In the distance, she could hear Angela and the others head toward the platform on their way home.

"Booth?" he said.

"Seeley?" Rebecca answered. "What's going on?"

"I have to go undercover on an assignment tomorrow and was wondering if I could see Parker before I left." He said, getting up from the couch and pacing around her office

"How long will you be gone?" Rebecca said.

"A month or more." He replied, trying to fight the overwhelming feeling of sadness.

"You are leaving your son for a month?" Rebecca said angrily. His chest tightened.

"I have no choice, Rebecca." He replied. "Please, can I come over and see him? I just need a few minutes."

She sat on the couch watching him try to convince Rebecca to let him see Parker. All of the sudden it felt like too much. She could see the pain in his eyes as he tried to keep his voice steady and calm. She walked past him and out her office, heading over to the platform where Hodgins, Angela and Zach were.

"Dr. Brennan." Hodgins said impatiently. "Can you convince Zach here to finish his work so that we can all go home."

"I just have to finish my preliminary examination." Zach said.

"I swear you need to learn how to drive." Hodgins muttered.

"Calm down." Angela said, squeezing Hodgins shoulder. "Zach won't be long right?"

"Another ten minutes is all I need." Zach replied.

"See all is fine and…" Angela started. "Bren, what's wrong?"

It was then that she realized what she probably looked like. Her clothes were rumpled from hugging him and her face was probably all splotchy and red.

"Umm… Booth… Seeley.." she said, the tears welling up in her eyes again. "He's going on undercover assignment and will be gone for a month or more." She wiped the tears from her eyes.

'I really shouldn't be crying about this.' She thought to herself. 'It was only a month.' But she knew it was the fact that they wouldn't be able to contact each other that was what bothered her the most.

"Wait, what?" Angela said, looking stunned.

"What did you say?" Cam said, walking up on the platform.

She turned to Cam, her face going red in anger.

"I said, Seeley is in my office right now trying to get Rebecca to let him spend fifteen minutes with his son before he goes away for a month and a half because YOU recommended that we be split up." She said, her voice rising. "And regarding the meeting we just had, I do have something to say. We" she said, gesturing to Angela, Zach and Hodgins. "are a team. And you had no right to say that we are not being effective in our jobs without proof. Cases are still being solved and bodies are still being identified. Beyond that, you have no control over how we feel. Now if you'll excuse me." She turned around and headed back to her office, where Booth was just finishing up his phone call.

"So?" she questioned. He turned to her with a smile on his face.

"She is letting me take him out to dinner. We can head over there right now." He said, grinning like crazy.

"Really? You convinced her?" she replied. "That is so great."

"Yeah, it is. But we should go and get him before she changes her mind." He said.

"Umm…he's your son, maybe I shouldn't.." she said hesitantly.

"Of course, you should come." He interrupted. "Rebecca knows that you are in my life. Now come on." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

She grabbed her purse and headed out the door, him following behind her. Everyone was still standing on the platform.

"Did you tell them?" he asked.

"Yeah I did." She replied.

"Well." He said, turning to the squints. "I guess I will see you guys in a while." All of the sudden, Angela came and gave him a big hug.

"Be careful." She said.

"I will." He replied. "You take care of her." He whispered into Angela's ear. She nodded.

"Okay, well we have to go get Parker, so.." he trailed off. He didn't know what to say.

"Goodbye Agent Booth." Zach said sadly. Hodgins just lifted his hand and waved.

"Bye guys." He replied. He grabbed her hand and headed out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for the fantabulous reviews! I hope you like this one!**

When they had reached the house, they got out of the car and headed to the front door. She hung back, unsure about what to do in this situation. She had met Rebecca several times, but this was different. She was now meeting her as Booth's…what? She couldn't think of an adequate word to describe what they had. Girlfriend seemed too casual, obviously they were something more. There was really only one word that described them and that was partners. She was his partner in everything that they did. He rang the doorbell and she shifted nervously. Instinctually he grabbed her hand to calm her down. The door opened and Drew was standing there.

"Agent Booth, good to see you again." Drew said, extending his hand.

"Good to see you too." He replied, shaking Drew's hand.

"Come on in." Drew said.

They walked into the house and headed to the living room where Rebecca and Parker were.

"Dr. Bones!" Parker said, running towards her.

"Well, clearly I know who the favourite is." He said, trying to have a hurt look on his face and failing.

She knelt down and gave Parker a hug.

"Hi Parker." She said.

Parker turned to Booth.

"Hi Daddy!" he said, as he launched him self at Booth's legs.

"Hey bub," he replied, picking him up. "Ready for dinner?"

"Yeah!" Parker said. "Can we go to Wong Foos to see Sid?"

"Absolutely!" he replied.

"Hi Dr. Brennan." Rebecca said, coming towards them.

"Hi." she replied, unsure about what to say. She held out her hand and Rebecca shook it. She could tell by the look in Rebecca's eyes that she was happy for her and Booth and she felt her insecurities wash away. 'At least one person is okay with our relationship.' she thought to herself. To be honest she thought Rebecca would have a problem with them. But maybe she already knew. When they had met in the elevator at the FBI and Rebecca had talked about the moment between her and Booth being lost, she had given her a look that suggested that she and Booth would have a moment. 'And we did.' she thought, a smile crossing her lips.

"You should get going." Rebecca said.

"Yeah." Booth said, still holding on to Parker. "Thanks Rebecca."

"No problem Seeley." she replied. "I'm sorry I got mad earlier."

"It's okay." he said. They said goodbye and headed out the door and were on their way to Sids.

She lay nestled against his chest unable to sleep. She had a hard time understanding that in a few hours he would be leaving. She thought back to the first time she met him. He had come swaggering into Dr. Goodman's office like he was a prince or something. He was cocky and arrogant and had looked at her like she was a thorn in his side. She had immediately said some comment and the constant arguing that would permeate their relationship had begun. It was only after coming back from Guatemala that she began to see the other side of him. He took her out into the field and they were partners ever since.

She was still having a hard time dealing with her feelings. She had never felt this emotional over a man before. She wanted to tell him never to leave, that she needed him to hold her forever. But she couldn't. He had a job to do and he wouldn't just give up on that. That was one of the reasons she loved him.

She thought back to earlier this evening as he had tried to explain to Parker why he had to leave. Parker had kept shaking his head and crying, not understanding why his Daddy had to leave for so long. He had asked why he couldn't chase the bad guys here. She had the same thought as well. She honestly didn't understand Cullen. He had sat there at New Years and told them they were a great team, and then he turned around and did this.

"Temperance." He murmured. "Stop thinking so hard."

"How did you know I was thinking?" she said, as she lightly kissed his chest.

"Because your brow furrows when you think and I can feel it." He replied.

She turned and propped her arms up on his chest and stared at him.

"I couldn't sleep." She said simply.

"Me either." He replied. "I can't stop thinking about Parker."

"He will be okay." She said reassuringly. "He just needs time." She felt a pang in her heart as she realized that without Booth she wouldn't get to see Parker either.

"Hey," he said, seeing the sad expression on her face. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too." She leaned up and kissed him. "I wish…" she trailed off.

"Me too." He replied. "Me too."

They lay like that until the sun rose, silent but not asleep. He started to shift slightly and she realized that it was time for them to get up and face the inevitable. She slowly lifted herself up and looked at him. All of the sudden, she couldn't control herself. Tears started pouring down her cheeks.

"Temperance." He said, his voice soft and low.

"I'm sorry." She replied. "This is stupid. I shouldn't be crying. You are coming back right?"

He sat up and wiped the tears off her cheeks and pulled her into a hug. "Of course I am. I won't leave you alone."

"Seeley.." she said.

"No." he said forcefully. "I won't leave you."

"Okay." She whispered into his ear. "Okay."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm amused by how people are either feeling sympathetic towards Cam or feel she's getting what she deserves! Although I have the flu right now and even the littlest of things amuse me! Hope you like it!**

She sat at her desk typing up her report on the 18th century Asian warrior she had identified earlier. However she couldn't concentrate. She was exhausted. It had been five days since Booth left and since then she had slept roughly three hours a night. She was able to put him out of her thoughts during the day because she was constantly working, but at night she couldn't help but think of him. Two nights ago, she had tried sleeping at his place, vainly thinking that she could trick her mind into thinking that he was there. That plan failed miserably.

She yawned again and blinked her eyes. She was getting nowhere. She glanced over at the couch. 'I guess five minutes couldn't hurt.' She thought as she headed over, slumped down and fell fast asleep.

* * *

"Dr. Brennan?" a voice said, rousing her out of her sleep.

"Yes Zach?" she replied groggily. She sat up and blinked.

"Sorry to disturb you." Zach said. "But we have a meeting in few minutes."

"Wait, What time is it?" she asked.

"Almost eleven." Zach replied.

"Oh god." She said, frantically running her hand through her hair. She had been asleep for three hours. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"Angela thought you needed the sleep." Zach said. "I'm sorry Dr. Brennan."

"No its okay." She said. "I will be there in a minute." She stood up and grabbing her pen and pad of paper, headed out the door after Zach.

"Sweetie?" Angela said, walking into her office. "You need to go home, it's after nine."

"I thought you left." She replied wearily.

"I did, but I got worried so I came back." Angela said. "Go home Bren."

"I have work to do." She said. "If you hadn't let me sleep for three hours this morning then.."

"You would still be here." Angela interrupted. "Go home, get something to eat."

"Angela, please." She said. "I'm fine. As my best friend, can you do me a favour?"

"Anything." Angela said, emphatically.

"Please let it go and leave me alone." She said. "Please."

Angela was silent for a few minutes. "Try to eat something." She whispered and then headed out the door.

She sat there for a minute before rushing to the door.

"Angela?" she called out, hoping her friend was still there. She saw a figure come back across the platform.

"Yes?" Angela said, walking up to her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be like that." She said. "I'm just…It's not logical…"

"Can we talk sweetie?" Angela asked.

"Sure." She replied.

"Okay, but let's leave and get some food." Angela said.

"Yeah, I guess I am hungry." She replied. She walked back into her office and grabbed her purse. They headed out of the lab and over to Wong Foo's. They grabbed a booth and waited for Sid.

"Hey, if it isn't the Bone Lady." Sid said, coming towards him. "And Angela too. Where's the G-man?"

"He's away on a case." She replied.

"So that's why you have the dark circles." He said. "Don't worry, I have something that can help with that. Be right back."

"So.." Angela said. "What's going on?"

"I haven't been sleeping." She admitted.

"Because of Booth?" Angela replied.

"Yes, which is completely irrational." She said. "Booth and I have been apart before. I don't know what makes this time different."

"First of all sweetie, love is irrational." Angela said. "And second of all, this is different. You haven't talked in like a week. Usually he's calling you like fourteen times a day."

Sid came back and placed two cups of tea in front of them.

"I will be back with your food." He said, heading off to another table.

She took a sip of her tea and sighed. It was perfect.

"Is that why you slept in the lab?" Angela asked.

She nodded. "My bed smells like him." She whispered.

"Oh sweetie." Angela said, grabbing her hand. "You can come and stay with me if you want."

"You've got Hodgins. Besides I will be fine." She said. "I just need to get used to him not being here."

"You and me both." Angela said. "Anytime anyone walked in the lab, I thought it was him."

"I hope I haven't caused too much trouble between you and Cam." She said. "I noticed at the staff meeting that nobody was saying anything."

"That's okay." Angela said. "You should have seen the guys, though. They were pissed when they heard about Booth leaving."

"Zach was pissed?" she said, laughter escaping her.

"Well, as best as he could be." Angela said. She started laughing too, and soon they were laughing so hard they could barely stop. Sid walked over to them with their food.

"Are you too ladies okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, we are fine." Angela said, still giggling.

As soon as the food hit the table, she dove in. "Mmm." She said, her mouth full of noodles.

"Hungry?" Angela asked.

"Yeah." She replied. " I haven't eaten in a while."

Angela started giggling again.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"I just thought I'd never hear you say the word pissed, that's all sweetie." Angela said laughing. "I don't know why but it's making me laugh."

She started laughing again as well. "Thanks Ange." She said. "For… you know.."

"Anytime." Angela replied. "Anytime."

* * *

Booth sat on the bed in his dingy apartment and sighed. The hole in the wall where he was residing was all part of the act. He kept himself busy throughout the day, pretending to be a mob stooge. But at night his thoughts always turned to her. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine her there. Lying next to him, asking endless questions, arguing about stupid things. He loved it all. He had never had a woman affect him like she did. It wasn't just the sex, although that was pretty damn incredible. It was everything. How she treated Parker, how she had made a stand after they had split up. How once she had decided to let him into her heart, she didn't hold anything back. He rolled over, trying to get more comfortable.

He was having trouble sleeping and he hoped it didn't affect his work. They had only been together for a short while and yet he felt as if he could never get a proper night's sleep again unless she was in his arms. He loved the feeling of his arms around her, protecting her from anything that came their way. Although she would kill him if he said he was protecting her. Not that she couldn't take care of her self, she definitely could, but he liked that she let him do it. It had taken two years for them to get together, but the wait was worth it. Even with all this other stuff going on, it was still worth it.

His thoughts drifted to Parker. He couldn't shake the image in his head of Parker crying and asking him why he had to leave. He had hugged him and he noticed she had unconsciously reached out and stroked Parker's hair in reassurance. That simple gesture showed how much she cared for him.

He sighed again and tried to shut his eyes and fall back asleep. He knew one thing for sure. When he got back, he would tell Cullen that he didn't want anymore work that took him away from his family. Cullen could fire him for all he cared. It was just too hard.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here's the next chap! Thanks for the reviews! Hope you like this chapter, it was time for a little Parker!**

The sound of her phone ringing made her wake up, startled. She grabbed it and answered. "Brennan."

"Dr. Brennan?" she heard Rebecca say.

"Yes." She replied, pushing herself away from her desk. She was surprised that Rebecca was calling her.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favour?" Rebecca said nervously.

"Absolutely." She replied, knowing that it had to do with Parker. She hadn't seen him in 2 ½ weeks, since the night before Booth left.

"Drew's away on a conference and I just got called to one as well. My parents can't make it and.." Rebecca paused.

"You were wondering if I would look after Parker." She stated.

"Yes, if it's not too much trouble." Rebecca said.

"I can do it." She stated. She had missed Parker a lot and realized that this is what Booth must feel like only being able to spend small amounts of time with him.

"Well it's for the whole weekend." Rebecca said.

"Rebecca I would love to, really." She said. "Parker is a good boy."

"Yeah he is." Rebecca replied. "Can I drop him by in half an hour?"

She looked at her watch. It was almost four o'clock.

"Yeah that should be fine." She replied.

"Thanks." Rebecca said, breathing a sigh of relief. "And Dr. Brennan?"

"Yes?" she said.

"I'm sorry about Seeley." Rebecca said.

"Thanks." She replied and hung up the phone. She was lost in thought for about two minutes until panic struck. 'What am I going to do with him all weekend?' she thought to herself. She settled back at her desk and pulled up the latest report she was working on. She might as well get some work done while she waited.

"Dr.Bones? Where are you?" she heard. She jumped up from her desk and walked hurriedly to the platform. Hopefully Cam didn't hear Parker yelling. She wasn't two steps on the platform when Parker ran at her and hugged her legs.

"Hi Parker." She said, patting the top of his head. She looked over and saw Rebecca.

"Hi Rebecca." She said, removing Parker from her legs and walking over to her. Parker held on to her hand tightly.

'Hi Dr. Brennan." Rebecca replied. "Thank you so much."

"No problem." She said. "We will have fun, right Parker?"

"Right, Dr. Bones." Parker said, grinning.

"Well here is all of his stuff." Rebecca said, handing over his backpack. "In the front pocket I included a paper with my contact info as well as Drew's. I didn't know what to pack because I wasn't sure if you were at Seeley's or not, so I packed everything."

"Thanks." She replied. "We will be at my apartment, but if I need anything I will go over there." She did not relish the thought of that. She hadn't been there since she had tried to sleep in his bed.

"Well I should go." Rebecca said. She knelt down in front of Parker. "See you on Sunday night okay?"

"Okay mommy." Parker replied, giving Rebecca a hug. Rebecca turned and walked down the steps and out the door.

"Dr. Bones?" Parker said, gesturing for her to kneel down.

"Yes Parker?" she said.

"I missed you so much." He said as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

She felt a tear roll down her cheek before she could stop it.

"I missed you too Parker." She choked out. They let go of each other and she stood up.

"Hey Parker." Angela said.

She turned around and saw that everyone including Cam had witnessed their exchange.

"Hi Angela. Hi Dr. Jack. Hi Dr. Zach. Hi Dr. Sor'yn." Parker said.

"So he's staying with you all weekend?" Angela said looking bemused.

"Yeah!" Parker shouted. "Dr. Bones and I are going to have lots of fun!"

"Yes we are." She replied. She felt herself smiling. His excitement was contagious. "Parker why don't you go and see if Dr. Jack will let you see his new bugs while I finish my report. Then we can go for dinner. If that's okay with you?" she said, gesturing to Hodgins.

"Definitely." Hodgins said. "Come on Parker." Parker ran after Jack and they headed off to his office.

"Dr. Brennan, the lab is not any place for a young boy to be running around in. We have expensive equipment that could get damaged." Cam said.

"Well unfortunately you will have to deal with it." She replied. She could feel herself getting angry again. "And I assure you, any equipment broken I will personally reimburse the Jeffersonian for."

Cam muttered something about Dr. Goodman and stalked off.

"So," Angela said. "What are you going to do with him all weekend?"

"I'm not entirely sure." She admitted. "Rebecca just called me an hour ago so I haven't had much time to plan."

"You should bring him here Dr. Brennan." Zach piped up. "The museum has some excellent new artefacts. As well, Parker would most likely enjoy the dinosaurs and the mummies."

"That's a good idea, Zach. Thanks." She replied. "I have to go make some calls, I will be right back."

She headed back to her office to arrange the day tomorrow. She tried not to think about Booth, but she couldn't help herself. She felt guilty that she got to enjoy time with his son while was off somewhere with no contact. She was still having trouble sleeping and dialled his cellphone number a hundred times a day but never connected. She had also driven in a daze one night and found herself outside FBI headquarters. She wanted to march in and ask Cullen what the hell was going on. But she couldn't. If this was some sort of test then she was determined to pass it. She briskly finished off the report, made her phone calls and headed to Jack's office where Parker was waiting for her.

They had gone to Sid's and then headed back to her apartment. She had found herself laughing at the comments Parker made and she felt better than she had in the last few weeks. Parker had a way of making her feel better, just like his dad. So far, he seemed to be having a good time. He had a bath without incident, and they had read five stories before she could convince him to go to bed. She was originally going to put him in her spare bedroom, but he looked a little scared at the thought of sleeping by himself, so she put him in her bed. It was too early for her to go to bed, but she did just that. She changed into her pajamas and got into bed next to Parker. He immediately snuggled next to her and fell asleep.

She awoke a short while later to the sounds of sniffling. She opened her eyes and saw Parker crying.

"Parker what's wrong?" she said.

"I miss Daddy." He whispered and started to cry harder. She wrapped her arms around him and he sobbed into her chest. "I miss him." He cried.

"Sssh." She said, trying to calm him down. She was unaware of her own tears that were falling rapidly down her face. "I miss him too."

"Will he come back?" Parker asked, lifting his head and looking at her. The sight of his tearstained face was too much and she started crying harder.

"Don't cry, Dr. Bones." Parker said, raising his small hand and wiping her face. She lay there holding him until they had both calmed down.

"He will come back, Parker." She said, rubbing her hand on his back.

"How do you know?" Parker replied, his voice muffled by her shirt.

"Because he promised he wouldn't leave." She said. "And your daddy doesn't say things he doesn't mean."

"Really?" Parker said.

"Really." She replied. "Now shut your eyes and try to go to sleep okay?"

"Okay. I love you Dr. Bones." Parker said as he drifted off to sleep.

"I love you too Parker." She whispered. She lay with him in her arms for a long time until sleep overtook her.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I was sick with the flu! The song is The Promise by Tracey Chapman. Thanks for all the reviews!**

They were worried about her. And frankly it was damned annoying. From her office she could see the furtive glances Zach was giving her. That was the least of it. Angela bothered her everyday and Hodgins kept randomly walking by her office. Cam had wisely said nothing. Why couldn't they all understand. She just wanted to work. She saw Agent Matthews come up to the platform.

It had been five weeks since Booth had left, the longest five weeks of her life. She hadn't set foot near an FBI case since then. Agent Matthews had turned out to be pretty decent. He came in and did his job but always made it perfectly clear that he was just subbing for Booth. He was also working well with Zach, who was beginning to be more confident in his abilities. There was a knock on her door and she looked up.

"Angela, what do you want?" she said. She couldn't keep the irritated tone out of her voice.

"I just came to give you my sketches, Bren." Angela explained.

"Sorry Ange." She replied, feeling guilty.

"It's okay." Angela said. "But while I am here can I tell you that you look horrible."

"Wow, Ange that makes me feel better." She said sarcastically.

"What I mean is maybe you should lie down for a bit." Angela said, biting her lip. She didn't want to be yelled at again.

"I can't Ange." She replied. "Parker's coming in a while and I have to finish this report."

"You have Parker again?" Angela said, sounding surprised. "Rebecca is letting you have him a lot."

"Yeah well she and Drew have been busy. I guess her parents sometimes help, but I said I would take him anytime." She said.

"You really love him, don't you?" Angela asked, sitting down on the couch.

"He's so much like Seeley." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she realized that she had said them. She walked over to Angela and sat down.

"Oh sweetie." Angela said sadly as she gave her a hug.

She blinked back the tears. "I..Ange..I have to do work." She got up and headed back to her desk. After a few minutes, Angela sighed, got up and left.

* * *

Angela, Jack and Zach all walked towards the door of the Jeffersonian. It was six-thirty in the morning, far too early to be at work in Angela's opinion, but Agent Matthews had called Zach saying they had found four bodies in a shallow grave.

Dr. Saroyan was heading for the entrance as well. "Good morning." She said stiffly.

"Morning." Angela and Zach replied. Hodgins just nodded his head. They all walked in together and were stopped in their tracks by what they saw.

Brennan was sound asleep, her head on the exam table resting near a skeleton. There were piles of papers everywhere and several boxes that contained other skeletons. There was a small CD player on one of the side tables and the last few seconds of a song played before there was silence. The next track started and music filled the lab.

_If you wait for me_

_Then I'll come for you_

_Although I've travelled far_

_I always hold a place for you_

_In my heart_

_If you think of me_

_If you miss me once in a while_

_Then I'll return to you_

_I'll return and fill that space in your heart_

_Remembering your touch_

_Your kiss_

_Your warm embrace_

_I'll find my way_

_Back to you_

_If you'll be waiting_

"Oh God." Angela whispered, as she heard the words. Tears were falling down her face. She was crying for her best friend. She couldn't imagine what Bren was dealing with. If Hodgins left for five weeks without a word, she knew that she would be pretty distraught. It didn't help that Bren was working like crazy. She had been sleeping in the lab for the last two weeks, only going home to get clothes. The only time when she wasn't at the lab was when she was with Parker. She couldn't believe the connection that had been forged between her and Parker. When Bren was with Parker, her eyes lit up. She listened to his endless questions about bones and skeletons. The guys liked having Parker around the lab too. 'So do I.' She thought to herself. She slowly inched her way towards the platform.

She turned and looked back at the others. They all had concerned looks on their faces, even Cam. She swiped her card and walked softly over to her.

"Sweetie, wake up." Angela said, shaking her softly. She raised her head and looked around, seeing Cam, Zach and Hodgins staring at her. "Oh, I'm sorry, what time is it?" she said, standing up immediately. She started grabbing the various piles of paper around her.

"It's only six-thirty." Angela said.

"Why are you here?" she asked, puzzled.

"Agent Matthews called us. We have four bodies." Hodgins said, as they all came up on the platform.

"Well, let me move my reports." She said, gathering them in her arms and heading off to her office. When she came back, she heard the last verse of the song playing.

_Please say you'll be waiting_

_Together again_

_It would feel so good to be in your arms_

_Where all my journeys end_

_If you make a promise_

_If it's one you can keep_

_I vow to come to you_

_If you wait for me_

_And say you'll hold_

_A place for me_

_In your heart_

She stood frozen on the platform, tears welling in her eyes. Suddenly she snapped out of her thoughts, marched over and turned the music off.

"I was unaware that anyone would be here this early, Dr. Saroyan." She said.

Angela noted that Brennan didn't say anything about actually being sorry.

"That's okay." Cam said. "However we will need all of the exam tables for the bodies coming in."

"Yes, let me finish." She replied. As she put the last bone in the box, her cellphone rang.

"Brennan." She said. "Absolutely, of course I will." She said into the phone. "I'll come right now." She snapped her phone shut and looked at everyone. "Rebecca's mother is in the hospital, I have to go get Parker. I will be back." She grabbed her keys and purse from her office and headed out.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: An extra long chapter for you! Thanks for the reviews! **

"Sorry I'm late." Agent Matthews said, heading up to the platform. "The bodies are on their way. "In the meantime, I brought coffee and bagels for everyone."

"Oh thank god!" Angela said, coming forward and grabbing a coffee. They all reached for coffee and bagels and sat down around an exam table. After a few minutes of silence, Brennan walked in with Parker in her arms. He was sound asleep.

"I'll be in my office if you need me." She said.

"Wait," Agent Matthews said. "I got you a hot chocolate." He handed it to her.

"How did you know?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Umm." Matthews said nervously. "Agent Booth told me."

She shifted Parker in her arms. "When?" she said.

"Right before he left." Matthews replied.

"He thought you would be my partner." She said softly.

"Yeah." He replied.

"What else did he say?" she said.

"He..uh.. said that you were stubborn and that you would want to drive all of the time." Matthews said. "He also said you like to beat up suspects and that I should never under any circumstances give you a gun."

She started to laugh. Of course he would have said that. Everyone else starting chuckling as well.

Parker lifted his head and opened his eyes. "Dr. Bones?" he asked.

"Hi Parker, sorry I didn't mean to wake you." She replied, brushing his hair out of his face. Parker looked over and saw the food on the table. "Can I have some?" he asked.

"Of course, sweetie." Angela said, getting two more stools. He wiggled out of her arms and headed over to Angela and whispered into her ear. Angela handed him a napkin and put two bagels on it. He walked back to her and held out one.

"Here Dr. Bones." He said, handing her one. He then proceeded to climb onto her lap and munch his bagel. She held the bagel in her hand untouched.

"Dr. Bones, you should eat your breakfast. It will make you big and strong." He said, taking another bite. She smiled and took a bite. She couldn't remember when she ate last. 'Angela took me for lunch yesterday.' She thought to herself. As she kept eating, she looked around the table. Zach and Hodgins were arguing about something as usual and Angela was asking Matthews about his family. Cam was sitting watching everyone, silent. She looked down and noticed Parker had abandoned his bagel and was now snuggling into her chest.

"Dr. Bones?" Parker said, drowsily.

"Yes?" she replied.

"When's my daddy coming back?" he said. Silence fell over the table. Everyone looked at her to see how she would respond.

"Soon Parker, I promise." She replied.

"Nobody's hugging him." Parker said, sitting up. He was crying. "I'm sad but you hug me and I hug you when you are sad, but nobody's hugging daddy."

"You're right." She said. "But that means that when he comes back, we have to give him the biggest hug, okay?"

"Okay." He sniffled.

"Now lie back down." she said, pulling him closer to her. She rocked him for a few minutes in her arms and he fell back asleep.

"Sorry to kill the mood." She said to the others.

"It's okay." Hodgins said. "We are getting four bodies soon. Nothing is more mood killing then that."

"I think I will go lie down for a while." She said. "I'm not really feeling well. By the way, Dr. Saroyan, all of the files you gave me have been taken care of and are on your desk for signature."

"You identified ALL those bodies?" Cam asked.

"Yes. Now if you will excuse me." She said standing up, her hands gripped firmly around Parker. "Agent Matthews?"

"Yes?" he replied.

"Thanks for the hot chocolate." She said. She turned and headed back to her office where she immediately lay down on the couch with Parker in her arms.

* * *

She lay with Parker for a while but sleep did not come as it usually did when she was with him. She carefully rolled him off her and got up off the couch. She grabbed the blanket on the back of the couch and covered him with it. She looked through her blinds and saw the team was working with the four bodies. 'I might as well go and help.' She thought to herself. She hadn't worked on an FBI case since Booth had left, but Zach would be overwhelmed with four bodies. He shouldn't be punished for what happened. She stifled a yawn, reached for her lab coat and put it on. She headed out to the platform wondering how long she could take this. Her fingers rubbed her cellphone inside her pocket and for the thousandth time she had the urge to call up Cullen and demand to know what was going on.

"Do you need any help, Zach?" she said, walking over to the bodies.

"Umm, this is an FBI case." Zach replied.

"I know, but I thought you could still use the help." She said. "If that's okay?" She looked around at everyone, her eyes settling on Cam. Whatever power struggle her and Cam were having, she just didn't care anymore. She didn't care about any of it anymore.

"Actually it's not okay." Said Dr. Goodman, coming up on the platform. "You need to go home."

"Excuse me?" she said angrily, turning to him.

"You have worked far too many hours this week. You need to go home." Goodman replied.

"I don't think that is for you to decide." She said.

"Actually it is." Goodman said, pulling her aside to the back of the platform. "According to the HR department you have accumulated too many overtime hours. You are required to take a forced vacation." He was speaking quietly, hopefully to avoid a scene.

"If you hadn't noticed, there are four bodies here that need my attention." She said, completely forgetting that they were Zach's responsibility not hers.

"Dr. Addy can take care of it." Goodman said. "Go home."

"Maybe you should listen to him." A voice came from below the stairs. She spun around and there he was. He looked dishevelled and tired but there he was. Her feet started moving before she realized it and she knocked over a table as she ran down the stairs, instruments clattering everywhere. She felt like she was moving in slow motion and then suddenly she was in his arms, her face buried into his shoulder, her hand clutching his back, tears pouring down her face.

She took a breath and knew it was him. After five weeks, it was him . He came back for her. The emotions were too much and she started sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. Her legs were buckling and he had to hold her tightly to keep her from falling. He ran his fingers through her hair and she could feel his tears hitting the side of her face, mixing with hers.

"Oh god, Temperance." She heard him say. Hearing him say her name made her cry even harder. They held each other like that for a long time, neither of them noticing the others. Jack was hugging Angela who was crying, Zach was looking ecstatic and kept rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Goodman had a smile on his face and Matthews looked relieved. Cam was struggling to keep her expression neutral.

Finally she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Seeley.." she started. She couldn't finish her sentence, she was too choked up.

"Later." He said, as she nestled her head back on his chest. She could feel both their hearts beating a mile a minute. She didn't know how long they were standing there but she didn't want to let go. She wasn't sure how long she would have to hold him to make the loneliness of the last five weeks go away.

She pulled away from him suddenly. "Parker!" she said, her eyes widening. She grabbed his hand and they made their way up to the platform where everyone was standing. "Stay here." She said. "I'll be right back."

As she let go of him, he immediately felt the loss of her touch. He watched as she headed to her office. He had no idea what was going on. Before he could say anything to the others, he heard the sweetest sound in the world.

"DADDY!" Parker said, running towards him. He bent down just in time to catch Parker in his arms.

"Parker." He choked out, tears falling down his face. He ran his fingers through his son's hair and looked up at Temperance. She was crying again too. "Parker." He said again in wonderment.

Parker lifted his head and looked at him crying. "You came back Daddy, You came back."

"Yes I did." He managed to say. "Of course I did."

Parker broke away from him and ran back to Temperance.

"Dr. Bones! Dr. Bones!" Parker said. "He came back for us, just like you said. He came back."

She knelt down and gave him a hug. "Yes he did." She whispered. It was too much for Parker and he started crying harder.

He watched as she lifted his son into her arms and began rocking him back and forth, humming a little tune. She was running her fingers through his hair. "Sshh." She said. "Sshh, it's okay."

The sight of the two of them together was more than he could bear. He grabbed a stool and sat down, trying to calm his heart down.

"Hey guys." He said, turning to the team. Angela came over and hugged him.

"Hi Booth, we missed you." She said, wiping the tears from her face.

"Yes." Hodgins and Zach chorused.

"I missed you guys too." He admitted. It was true, despite his talk about how out of touch the squints were, he had missed working with them and hanging out with them.

"Agent Booth, good to have you back." Dr. Goodman said, extending his hand.

"Dr.Goodman." he nodded curtly. "Dr. Saroyan." He turned his attention back to the two loves of his life who were currently whispering things into each other's ears.

"Yeah!" Parker exclaimed. He wriggled out of her arms and headed over to him. "Daddy, Daddy we have to go get the book!"

"The book?" he asked.

"Yeah its at Dr. Bones!" Parker said. "And you can see my new room!"

"New room?" Angela asked. Everyone had confused looks on their faces.

"Yeah!" Parker replied. "I got a new room at Dr. Bones! It had dinosaurs and bugs and I got a microscope so I can look at things! And we made a volcano and it 'rupted!" Parker had stopped talking to catch his breath. "Let's go Dr. Bones."

"Okay, Parker." She replied. "Can you go get my bag?"

"Sure!" he said, running toward her office.

She turned to Dr. Goodman. "You are right, I am working too much. I will take the rest of the week off. Is that acceptable?" she asked.

"Umm, yes." Goodman said, flustered by the sudden change of events.

"Angela, could you drive us to my apartment. I think I am a little too tired to drive." She said. She felt a little light headed all of the sudden and stumbled a little. Booth reached out a grabbed her elbow to steady her.

"When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?" he asked, looking concerned.

"The night before you left." She said softly.

He tilted her chin with his finger. "Me too." He replied.

"Here you go Dr. Bones." Parker said, coming towards them with her bag.

"Thanks Parker." She replied, taking it from him. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah!" " he said, jumping up and down.

"Wait, there is something I have to do before we leave." Booth said.

"What?" she replied, looking confused.

"This." He said, reaching for her waist and pulling her closer. His lips hovered over hers slightly and then he was kissing her. She tilted her head and deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was the most pure, beautiful thing she had ever felt. They parted, each staring into each other's eyes. "I love you Temperance." He said, heart pounding.

"I love you Seeley." She replied. She brushed her lips against his once more and then turned to Parker. "Well let's go!" she said, reaching for his hand.

"I will be back in a minute." Angela said, waving to the others as she followed them out the door.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Wow! What a fantastic response! I'm glad everyone liked Booth coming back! Here's the next chapter full of Parker cuteness!**

She unlocked the apartment door and Parker pushed aside and ran in. "Come on Daddy!"

"Shoes, Parker." She said, not seeing the strange look on Booth's face. He was surprised at how motherly she sounded.

"Sorry Dr. Bones." Parker said, running back and putting his shoes and coat on a hook by the door.

Both Angela and Booth were looking around the apartment trying to absorb all of the changes. There was crayons and paper on the coffee table and various artwork posted around. There was several buckets of toys and a giant flat screen tv as well.

"Wow, sweetie." Angela said. "When did all this happen?"

"Oh well, I.." she said, suddenly feeling nervous. "Once Parker started coming over more often, I thought I needed a few things."

"You got to have Parker?" he said astonished.

"Yes, well Rebecca called me once because she had a conference and I took care of him for the weekend." She said. "Then after that, she let me take care of him instead of her parents, who usually do. I guess she thought I was lonely. I hope that it's okay. That this is okay." She felt nervous, like she took Parker away from him.

"It's perfect." He replied, moving next to her and slipping his hand around her waist. He placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Come on Daddy!" Parker said, jumping up and down. "You too, Angela!"

He followed his son around the house, watching him point out various things.

"Dr. Bones let me put up all my pictures on the fridge." Parker said pointed.

"I can see that." He replied, laughing. The fridge was covered with tons of pictures, as were the surrounding cabinets. Parker grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bathroom.

"This is my stool and my toothbrush and my bath toys." Parker said. He ran out of the bathroom and down the hall. "This is the best part!" he yelled back at them as they were making their way down the hall. He opened the door and waited for them to catch up.

"This is my room!" Parker said, excitingly. They all stepped into the room. "This is my dinosaur bed and I have dinosaur wallpaper and this is my desk for colouring and here is my microscope!" Parker jumped on to his bed. "And here is a picture of us daddy, see?" he said pointing to a picture on the wall. "It's near my head cuz you will keep me safe. Right Dr. Bones?"

"Right Parker." She said, from the doorway. Her stomach was flip flopping nervously.

"Temperance.. I.." Booth said. "This is incredible. Thank you."

"I couldn't sleep in your apartment." She said fiddling with her hands. "So.."

"The book!" Parker interrupted. "Where is it?"

"I think it's on the coffee table." She replied. He ran out to go see if it was there.

"Sweetie this is beautiful." Angela said.

"Thanks Ange." She said. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Absolutely." Angela said, as they headed out of the room and back down the hall. "That coffee from Agent Matthews just didn't cut it."

"How is Agent Matthews doing anyway?" Booth asked. "He didn't give you a gun did he?"

"I haven't been working with him. Zach has." She replied.

"Wait, you haven't done any FBI cases?" he said looking surprised.

"No, I said I would only work with you." She said.

"However she has been working like 80 hours a week since you left." Angela piped up. "And sleeping in the lab."

"Ange!" she said, turning on the coffee pot.

"I got the book Dr. Bones!" Parker said, coming into the kitchen holding a large scrapbook.

"Good Parker." She replied. "Why don't we go sit on the couch and look at it?"

They headed to the couch and sat down, Parker squished between Angela and Booth so he could show them the book.

"We made this book for you daddy so that when you came back you could see what Dr. Bones and I did." He opened the first page. "See we went to the museum and we got to go in the basement and see the mummies and we got a special badge. And we saw the dinosaurs. Did you know they died a long, long time ago Daddy?"

"I did.' Booth replied. "That's neat though."

Parker flipped the page. "Then we went to Sid's and he took our picture see?"

Booth stared down at the picture of Parker with his arms around Temperance's neck. They were both grinning.

Parker kept flipping through the pages, showing Angela and him all the things they did. There was pictures of Parker baking cookies, flour all over the kitchen. There was a lopsided one of Temperance eating an ice cream sundae. There were pictures of them together in the lab and several at Sid's. He laughed when he saw the pictures of the volcano. There was one of Parker standing next to it and then one erupting. There was a picture that Parker took of Temperance covered entirely in the fake lava. And there was one of Parker sound asleep in bed, his hand on the wall touching the picture of him and Parker.

Suddenly Parker scooted off the couch and ran to his room. Booth looked over and saw that she had fallen asleep.

"I should go." Angela said, putting her coffee cup down and rising from the couch. "They will be wondering where I am at the lab."

"Thanks for driving us." Booth replied.

Parker came back into the room holding his dinosaur blanket. He placed it over Temperance's sleeping form. He was touched by his son's simple gesture.

"I have to go now sweetie." Angela said, looking at Parker. "Thank you for letting me look at your book." She walked over and gave Parker a hug. "Call me if you need anything Booth."

"I will." He replied standing up and walking to the door. "Good luck with the case."

"Yeah, hopefully I will have some of my weekend left." Angela said, walking out the door.

He turned around and saw Parker snuggling up next to her. He sat down on the couch and pulled both of them close to him so that Parker was sitting on his lap and her head was on his shoulder.

"I love you Daddy." Parker mumbled into his chest.

"I love you too Parker." He replied, kissing the top of his forehead. He sighed and shut his eyes, sleep overtaking him.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! There's parts of it that amuse me, like the fact that they sleep all day while Parker took care of himself. Thank you very much for your reviews, I am so glad you are liking it!**

A knock on the door startled her out of sleep. Parker was sitting on the couch watching cartoons and Booth was still sound asleep beside her. As she headed to the door she looked at the clock. It was five o'clock. She opened the door to see Angela, Zach and Hodgins outside.

"Hey guys." She said, gesturing for them to come in.

"Did you just wake up sweetie?" Angela said.

"Yeah I did." She replied. "Parker, why didn't you wake me up? What have you done all day?"

"I watched tv and played with my toys and drew Daddy lots of pictures." Parker said.

"You've been asleep all day?" Hodgins said. "Wow, how do you feel?"

"I actually feel really good thanks." She replied. It was true. She felt more refreshed then she had in a long time.

"Nice apartment, Dr. Brennan." Zach said.

"Thank you." She replied. She walked back over to the couch and sat next to the still sleeping Booth. She pushed his shoulder and tried to wake him up. "Booth?" she said. "Wake up." He didn't move. "Seeley?" she said, pushing harder.

"Mmm, work later Temperance." Booth mumbled as he grabbed her and practically rolled on top of her.

Angela and Hodgins started laughing which caused Booth to open his eyes.

"Thank god." He said, staring into her eyes. "I thought it was a dream." He kissed her lips softly. He rolled off of her and sat up. "Hey guys." He said, noticing the squints staring at him. "What time is it?"

"It's almost five." She replied. "We slept all day and Parker had to play by himself."

"Oh bud, I am so sorry." He said, scooping Parker up into a hug.

"It's okay daddy." Parker replied. "I drew you some pictures."

"You did?" he said. "Well show me then."

She watched as he followed Parker into his bedroom and then turned her attention back to everyone else.

"So what can I do for you?" she asked.

"We actually came to check on you two." Angela said.

"And if we were one more second in the lab, we would have lost it." Hodgins said.

"Did you figure out the cause of death for the bodies?" she said.

"Umm, no Dr. Brennan." Zach said. "We are still working on it."

"Well it's your case not mine." She said wistfully. "Does anyone want a drink?"

"Is five too early for a glass of wine?" Angela asked.

"I don't think so." She replied smiling. "Let me go get it. Make yourselves comfortable."

She headed into the kitchen, Angela following behind her.

"Sweetie, I just want to say how happy I am for you." Angela said giving her a hug. "You seem better already."

"Thanks Ange." She said. "We are still not partners though."

"One step at a time sweetie." Angela said. "He just got back."

"Yes, and they could send him away again." She replied.

"No they won't." Booth said, walking into the kitchen.

"What do you mean?" she asked, grabbing the wine bottles from the fridge and handing them to Angela.

"I told Cullen this morning before I came to see you that I didn't want anymore undercover assignments that would take me away from my family."

"Your family?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah." He replied, walking over to her. "You and Parker, my family." He reached out and ran his fingers through her hair.

"What did he say?" she said.

"He said he would think about it." He replied, caressing her cheek. She shivered under his touch.

Angela, noting the rapidly private moment between them had grabbed the glasses and the bottle of wine and had backed out of the kitchen and into the living room, where everyone else was.

"You know, It's been over eight hours since I saw you and I have only kissed you twice." He said, wrapping his hands around her waist. "That seems wrong to me."

She reached up and wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. "That seems wrong to me too." She whispered.

"Well let's rectify.." he started to say. He got no further because her lips were on his, kissing him. It was passionate and urgent and he wanted it never to stop. They parted gasping for air, but only for a second, because she was kissing him again. He reached under her shirt to feel her skin and a soft moan escaped from her lips. They broke apart and he began kissing up and down her neck.

"Seeley." She said, breathing heavily. "Everyone's in the next room."

"Mmmm" was his reply as he nibbled on her earlobe. He captured her lips once more before they pulled apart, panting.

"Later." She said, giving him a wicked smile as she headed back out to the living room. He leaned back against the counter to catch his breath and then followed her out.

* * *

She grabbed the two cups of tea she had made and headed into the living room where she saw him looking at the scrapbook again. She sat next to him on the couch and handed him his tea. They had dinner with everyone, both her and Seeley eating enthusiastically. Neither of them had eaten in a while. Then they had left, promising to visit later in the week. She had watched as Booth had played a game with Parker, the look on his face ecstatic. Rebecca had come by and picked up Parker, shocked at Booth's return. They had hugged and she welcomed him back. That was about half an hour ago, now it was just the two of them. She snuggled closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I can't believe you did all this stuff with him." He said, kissing the top of her forehead.

"It wasn't a big deal." She replied. "I had fun. Parker's a good kid, you know."

"Yeah." He said. "So what happened here?" he said, pointing to the volcano pictures.

She started to laugh. "I thought it would be fun if we built a volcano." She said. "Unfortunately when it erupted, it erupted all over me. I smelled for two days."

He started laughing. He had been gone for five weeks, but it felt like he had missed so much. She and Parker had clearly formed a close bond and he wouldn't want anything less. He also noticed the hug that Rebecca had given her when she came to get Parker. Temperance didn't let lots of people hug her, so that fact that she let his ex-girlfriend hug her meant something.

"I feel like I have missed so much." He said, voicing his thoughts and trying not to sound sad.

"Don't worry." She said, reassuringly. "I will fill you in on every detail." She sat up and put her tea down on the table then snuggled back into his chest. They were silent for a few minutes.

"Seeley?" she said, worriedly.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Umm… this is forever right?" she said, suddenly sitting up. She started fiddling with her hands in her lap.

He knew what she was asking and he only had one answer. "Absolutely." He said, running his fingers through her hair again. He couldn't imagine not ever wanting this, not ever wanting her.

"Good." She replied. "I know we have differences but.."

"I don't care." He said, leaning over to kiss her softly.

"You want kids. I don't." she said bluntly.

"I want you and Parker." He replied. "That's all I need, just you and Parker."

"Really?" she said. She looked vulnerable and a little scared.

"Really." He replied, pulling her to his chest. "I swear. I love you Temperance and I am never going to let you go. I told you I won't leave you and I won't ever, I promise."

"I love you too." She said into his chest. They lay there for a few more minutes until she sat up again. "I was thinking.. that maybe you and Parker want to move in with me." She stated.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He knew how she liked her privacy. Living together was a big step.

"Yes I am." She replied with conviction. "You are here all of the time anyway, and Parker has his room… I mean we can move into your apartment if you want, but mine is bigger so I thought…. I just want to be with you. Like a family." She said the last part in a whisper.

"I would love to move in with you Temperance." He said, kissing her once more. "You are going to have to pack up some of your books though, because I have a lot of stuff." He teased.

"My books! What about your stuff?" she replied, laughing.

"My stuff doesn't include shrunken heads." He said, tickling her.

"They are not shrunken heads!" she said, squirming. "What about all of your bowling stuff? That's weird."

"Bowling is not weird, Bones." He replied, tickling her again.

"Neither is my stuff." She said. "I.." He cut her off with a passionate kiss.

"Okay, enough of this." He growled as he scooped her up into his arms and headed towards the bedroom.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it! Thank you so much for the reviews, I totally appreciate it. **

She walked into the Jeffersonian on Monday at 8:45 with a huge grin on her face. 'Stop it.' She thought to herself. 'Be serious, you have to work.' But she couldn't. The last four days since Booth had come back were unbelievable. She had asked him to move in with her, by the next day half his stuff was in her apartment. Now amongst her books and trinkets were his family pictures and knick knacks. She couldn't believe how easily it had come together. All of his stuff naturally had a place in her apartment, she barely had to put anything of her own away. He was able to give his apartment up fairly quickly, only having to pay until the end of the month.

They had spent the rest of the week enjoying each other's company. They went for walks and visited museums and told each other things no one else knew about. They had watched Breakfast at Tiffany's one night and proceeded to spend the rest of the day doing things that neither of them had ever done before. 'That proved to be interesting.' She thought to herself as she blushed. She was happy and she liked that feeling.

But coming back to the Jeffersonian brought back the unpleasant feeling regarding their work situation. They needed to be partners again, they both knew it. While neither of them were willing to give up on their relationship, she knew it would be hard on both of them. She walked into her office and set her bag down and sighed. She liked working at the Jeffersonian but without Booth it wasn't the same. When he was gone, she thought that she would get used to working without him, but the exact opposite was true.

He had gone back to work today as well. He could have gone earlier, but Cullen let him have a few days off. 'He was probably in a meeting with Cullen right now.' She thought to herself. Although she wished it were true, she knew Cullen wasn't going to just hand them their partnership back.

There was a knock at her door. She looked up and saw Cam.

"Dr. Brennan, we need your assistance." Cam said.

She followed Cam out to the platform where the four bodies from last week lay.

"You are still working on these?" she asked.

'We can't determine the murder weapon." Zach said. "I'm sorry Dr. Brennan."

"It's okay Zach, but why do you need me? I don't do FBI cases." She said.

"I thought that maybe you would help out considering we are at a dead end." Cam replied.

"Tell me about it!" Matthews shouted.

She turned and saw Agent Matthews and Booth walking towards them.

"Booth are you back?" Angela said, jumping forward.

"Uhh…no." Booth said uncomfortably. He waited as Matthews swiped his card and let them both in. He turned to her. "You left your manuscript in the car. I know you wanted it so…"

"Did you peek?" she interrupted, coming towards him.

"No!" he replied indignantly. " You could let me read it though. We are living together and you let whatshisface.."

"David." She interrupted.

"..read it, why not me?" he continued.

"You can read it when it comes out like everyone else." She said grabbing the manuscript and turning her attention to the bodies.

"So no murder weapon still?" Matthews said. "This case is starting to piss me off. My suspects aren't giving me anything."

"Zach?" she said, looking at the computer screen where an enhanced image of the wound was showing. "This is the cause of death?"

"Yes, Dr. Brennan." Zach replied. "They all died of a subdural hematoma. They were attacked with some sort of instrument. I have tried various pokers and stun guns but none of them fit."

"It looks like.." she started.

"The pig gun." Booth interrupted. "The one used to…" he trailed off.

"Kill my mother." She said softly. "But this one has a narrower point and a much larger diameter. It wasn't used with much force."

"So not a weapon." Booth said, wandering over to the table that contained the various weapons. "A turkey baster?" he said, looking oddly at Zach.

"Yes!" she replied.

"You think someone stabbed this guy in the head with a turkey baster?" he asked.

"No, I mean it has the right kind of point." She said.

"Can I see?" he gestured to Matthews, who was holding the case file in his hands. Matthews passed it over and he scanned it quickly.

"So maybe the boyfriend caught her sleeping with one of these guys." He said, pointing to the bodies.

"You always think it's the boyfriend." She said, annoyingly. "I have no time for conjecture. Besides, even if that were true, why would he kill the other two? The weapon we are looking for has a thick diameter but comes to a narrow point. So narrow that he probably whittled it down himself. In order for it to make an impact on the bone like this it would have to be made of iron or steel."

"A railroad spike!" he exclaimed.

"That could work." She replied, examining the skull.

"The boyfriend works at a junkyard. He could have picked it up there." He said, grinning.

:Someone else could have gotten hold of a spike." She noted. "See the pattern here?" she said, pointing to the monitor. "It suggest that it was twisted at some point."

"So this guy hammered a railroad spike into their heads and twisted it for good measure?" he asked. "That is sick."

"They must have been drugged." She replied. "Because he would have needed both hands to drive the spike in. We should check his hands for any healed cuts or bruises. He would have done damage to his hands."

"C'mon Bones, we should go check…" Booth started then fell silent. They had both noticed that everyone was staring at them.

He looked down at the file in his hand. "Sorry." He said, handing it back to Matthews. "Well I should go…umm…paperwork." He said lamely. He couldn't control the raging hole he felt in his gut. They were solving a case like old times. Damn he missed it. From the pained expression on her face she felt it too.

"Yeah." She replied. "Iron Age warrior…."

"Okay then." He said. He strode down the steps as she turned and went into her office, leaving five astonished people behind.

She sat down on her couch and sighed. God that felt good. Her and Booth sparring verbally and cracking the case. He had even called her Bones, something he hadn't done in a while. The look on his face when they both realized what they had been doing nearly broke her heart.

She sat for a few minutes, thinking her situation over, trying to come to some logical conclusion. 'I'm not happy here anymore.' She thought to herself. It wasn't just not being in the field, although that was a big part of it. The team was fractured, there was tension in the lab and she didn't like it. The team that they had so carefully constructed was falling apart. 'Booth was right when he said that if you take away one of us, you take all of us.' She mused.

She got up from the couch and sat in her chair. She knew what she had to do. She opened a blank document and began to type.

'I, Dr. Temperance Brennan, hereby resign…"


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Wow, this chapter is long. I hope you like it, it's the second last one. But don't worry, there's three more stories after this in the series. Thank you so much for all the reviews!**

Dr. Goodman slowly walked over to the Medico-Legal lab. He was doing his rounds at the Jeffersonian and had left the forensics department until the last. He wasn't looking forward to visiting them. Ever since Agent Booth had been removed, there had been tension in the lab. "More than tension.' He thought to himself. When he had been informed of what had happened on New Year's (by his eagle eyed wife no less) he had been happy for them. Dr. Brennan deserved to be happy after the year she had. However once discussing the situation with Dr. Saroyan and Director Cullen they had jointly agreed to split the two up. Their partnership could have caused problems in court and would have looked bad for the Jeffersonian.

He was however unaware of the sexual relationship between Dr. Saroyan and Agent Booth until Dr. Brennan had pointed it out. This concerned him deeply. But before he had a chance to do anything about it, Agent Booth was reassigned and left for five weeks. Dr. Brennan turned into a woman possessed, she never slept and rarely ate and had identified more bodies in limbo than had been done all year. He walked up to the platform and noted that she was absent from the group. Agent Matthews was also not there. He walked up to them about to speak when Angela cut him off.

"Dr. Goodman?" Angela said. "I want to make one thing clear. The moment, I mean the very moment that Brennan resigns, I will be resigning as well."

"I'm sorry, excuse me?" Goodman said. 'I have not received a resignation letter from Dr. Brennan. I know of no such thing."

"She hasn't resigned." Angela said angrily. "Not yet anyway. But she will eventually. Especially after what just happened. I have no loyalty to the Jeffersonian, all my loyalty is with Brennan. So as soon as she leaves, I leave." She stood in the middle of the platform with her hands on her hips.

"Me too." Zach said.

"Dr. Addy you are well aware…" he started.

"I am well aware of the fact that I have received two job offers since I received my doctorate just because of the mere fact that I worked under Dr. Brennan." Zach said, trying to sound assertive. "I'm with Angela."

Both Angela and Zach waited to hear what Jack said.

"Oh, me!" Jack said, startled. "Of course I am with Dr. Brennan. We were buried in a car together for twelve hours, for gods sake. Beyond that, she is the best person I have worked for, so yeah I quit too."

"I'm sorry, I am confused Dr. Saroyan. When we spoke last week, you said that everything was fine. And now the top forensic anthropologist and her entire team are resigning?" Goodman said in a clipped tone.

'Dr. Goodman there was an incident this morning that may have encouraged this." Cam said, hastily trying to explain.

"What happened?" he asked.

'"Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth figured out the murder weapon for the case we have been working on in five minutes." Hodgins said.

"Actually it was four minutes and twenty six seconds." Zach said.

"Hmm." Goodman said. He turned to Zach. "Was there something you missed?"

"Yes." Zach replied. "While I was close to the weapon, it was Agent Booth who identified it. And Dr. Brennan determined that the spike had been twisted, something that I did not see when examining the remains."

"And they figured it out? Together?" he asked.

"Yeah." Angela replied. "Like they always do."

"I ask only this, that I do not receive anyone's resignation on my desk for twenty four hours." Goodman said. "This will give me time to assess the situation. Is that acceptable?"

"I suppose." Angela said.

"Good." He replied. "Now I must get back to work. Dr. Saroyan, will you accompany me to my office so that I can have a word?"

"Yes, sure." Cam said hesitantly. They walked off, leaving the three squints standing there.

* * *

She sat in one of the chairs waiting for the rest of the team. She was in one of the meeting rooms. Dr. Goodman had called a mandatory department meeting this morning. She assumed it was about yesterday. She had just finished typing up her resignation when Angela had come in and told her what Dr. Goodman had said. She didn't know what to do.

"Sweetie!" Angela said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "I brought you a hot chocolate, here."

She grabbed the cup from Angela as the door swung open and Hodgins and Zach walked in.

"Are we early?" Hodgins said as he got him self situated.

"A little bit." She replied. " I wanted to say something anyway." She said, looking around at all of them.

"What you did yesterday? Threatening to resign? I didn't understand why you would do something like that." She paused. "But I realized it's because we are a team. I'm not used to that you know. Being apart of a group of people who care about me. A family. So I wanted to say thank you for what you did. Even though I like to do things alone, it's good to have friends back you up."

"Wow, sweetie, Booth has been good for you." Angela said. "In more than one way if you know what I mean."

"Angela!" she said smiling.

The door swung open and Dr. Goodman and Cam stepped in. Cam was wearing a look of discomfort on her face. Clearly something had happened.

"Good, you are all here." Goodman said. "We are just waiting for Agent Matthews."

"Why?" Hodgins asked.

"Because he is the FBI liaison and therefore has a say in what we are about to discuss." Goodman answered.

The door opened and Matthews rushed in. "Ahh… Agent Matthews." Goodman said.

"Sorry I'm late." Matthews said. He stayed standing by the door.

"Actually we just started." Goodman said. "I believe you should make your announcement first."

She looked at Matthews puzzled.

"I have been reassigned." Matthews said. "I will no longer be the FBI liaison to the Jeffersonian."

"What?" Hodgins said. "This is ridiculous. They just can't keep recycling FBI partners."

"Now.." Goodman started.

"I have to agree." Brennan said. "This behaviour indicates that the FBI does not think highly of the Jeffersonian or of us. I know many in the FBI just think of us as the squints, but we provide a valuable service to the FBI."

"This sucks." Angela said. "Now we have to break in a new agent. No offense." She said to Matthews.

"None at all." He replied, smiling.

"I was assured by Deputy Director Cullen that this would be the last change for a long time." Goodman replied.

"I actually have him waiting outside." Matthews said. "I thought this was an appropriate time to introduce him." He went to open the door and gestured outside at the man.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth, at your service." Booth said, coming into the room.

The response was instantaneous. Angela squealed louder than she had ever heard before and ran over and gave him a hug. Hodgins got up too, shouting "Dude!" and shaking his hand. Zach stood behind him just grinning from ear to ear.

She had remained frozen in her seat. 'We're partners again.' She thought to herself. 'That's him standing there. That means we are partners again.' She kept repeating this in her head over and over as if her mind couldn't believe it was true. She slowly stood up, realizing that everyone had quieted down and was looking at her. She walked over to him and held out her hand.

"Dr. Temperance Brennan." She said as she shook his hand. His face erupted into a huge grin.

"Dr. Brennan." He said calmly. "That name doesn't suit you. How about I call you Bones?"

The tears that had been welling in her eyes now slipped down her cheeks.

"Don't call me Bones." She choked out.

He held out his arms towards her.

"I don't…" she started.

"Partners hug." He said. "It's a guy hug." He pulled her closer and she fell into his arms. He reached up and wiped the tears away from her cheeks. They pulled apart and she turned to Dr. Goodman.

"Sorry." She said.

"Not at all." Goodman said, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Well, my work here is done." Matthews said.

"Listen, about what you said to Cullen…" Booth started.

"It was nothing." Matthews said. "I have to tell you when you turned down that promotion a while ago, I, like the rest of the office thought you were crazy. But now I completely get it. This is the best team I have ever worked with. It was an honour and a pleasure to work with each of you."

"It was good to work with you too." Angela said. "I'm sorry if we were a little tense."

"Not at all." Matthews said. "Well I should head out and get my new assignment. If you ever need a sub again, let me know Booth."

"I will." Booth replied, shaking his hand.

"Dr. Brennan." Matthews said, shaking her hand. He turned and waved at everyone and was out the door.

"So.." Dr. Goodman said. "If you would like to sit down Agent Booth we can continue the meeting."

Booth grabbed a seat next to her and sat down.

"I must start by apologizing to the entire team. When I recommended that Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan no longer work together I was thinking about the reputation of the Jeffersonian. What I failed to realize though, was that the Jeffersonian's reputation is credible because of the people who work in it. In the past several years, this forensic department has been the pinnacle of the Jeffersonian's success. I felt that I did not want to compromise this." Dr. Goodman said. "I also did not realize that this would affect the entire team, not just Dr. Brennan. Having been away for part of the year, I was unaware of the connections that you have formed, having to deal with situations like the Gravedigger as a team. " He paused.

"I must also apologize directly to you Dr. Brennan. You are one of the Jeffersonian's most important assets.." Goodman said. She snorted at his use of the word asset. "Yes, I know you do not like that word, but it is true. I should have trusted your ability to do this job. The same goes for you Agent Booth. Since joining this team, you have made everyone better at their jobs."

"Thank you." She said. Booth nodded.

"Dr. Saroyan?" Goodman said. "I believe it is your turn."

"Well.." Cam started nervously. "I realize that the last few months have been difficult and there has been a lot of tension. I was unaware of how deep this went until yesterday's incident. I hope that we can move on and continue the good work we have been doing. Dr. Goodman is right, the quality of work has not changed despite the circumstances. I do believe that with the return of Agent Booth the team will start functioning better now." She paused, clearly not relishing what she had to say next. "I apologize for making the recommendation to have Booth removed as liaison. As Dr. Goodman pointed out, following the correct procedures he should have been removed earlier because of …our previous relationship. Anyway, I am sure that we can continue to do great work for the Jeffersonian."

"Does anyone have anything to say?" Goodman said. "Because this is the time to address it."

"Don't do it again." Hodgins muttered.

"Point noted, Dr. Hodgins." Goodman said. "Anyone else?" Everyone nodded mutely. "Can I assume this means I will not be receiving your letter of resignation, Dr. Brennan? Nor anyone else's?"

"No, Dr. Goodman." She replied, ignoring the bewildered look on Booth's face.

"No." the others chorused.

"Well then, back to work." He stood up and headed out of the room. Everyone else followed and headed out to the platform.

"So…" Booth said. "Resignation?"

"Promotion?" she replied.

"Okay, so we will have to talk later." He said, smiling. "I have to go back to the office. Wong Foo's at six? Whaddya say?"

"Well" she started.

"Angela." He said turning. "Make her be there at six. We will all celebrate. Sounds good?"

"Sounds great." Angela replied. "We will be there."

"See ya Bones." He said, fighting the urge to walk over and kiss her. Instead he turned and walked out the door.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: So here is the little epilogue for this story! Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I hope you liked it! The next story is entitled Family. And I'm posting the first chapter right after this one!**

"So…" she said, resting her chin on his chest.

"What?" he asked. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"Do I get a gun?" she said, tracing lazy circles on his arm.

"No way Bones!" he replied laughing.

"Please?" she said, pouting and kissing his chest.

"Not going to work!" he said.

They lay in silence for a few minutes and then he began to chuckle. "The look on everyone's face when I walked in the door…" he said.

"You could have called and warned me." She said indignantly. "I cried in front of everyone."

"Only a few tears." He replied. "Besides it was worth it."

They fell silent again as he thought back to that night. When he arrived at Wong Foo's they were already there, drinking and laughing. They had dinner and hung out for a while. It felt great, like old times. Sid had congratulated them and had refused to let them pay for anything. Near the end of the evening, he had looked over at her and seeing the twinkle in her eye decided it was time to leave. So now here they were, naked in bed together in their apartment. He knew that whatever happened, she would be his for the rest of his life.

He started to drift back to sleep when the phone rang. She groaned as he untangled himself from her and reached for his phone on the bedside table.

"Booth." He said, sitting up. "Yes. Okay." As he answered the other person, he couldn't stop the grin on his face. "We will be right there."

At this statement, she began grinning as well.

"Okay." He said. "Bye."

He hung up the phone and she looked at him expectantly. He pulled her up into a sitting position and kissed her softly on the lips.

"We have a case."


End file.
